:
“Our Lord in His teaching regarding prayer never once referred to unanswered prayer; He said God always answers prayer. If our prayers are in the name of Jesus, that is, in accordance with His nature, the answers will not be in accordance with our nature, but with His. We are apt to forget this, and to say without thinking that God does not always answer prayer. He does every time, and when we are in close communion with Him, we realize that we have not been misled.”
oswald chambers, prayer: A holy occupation, p. 101.
Weekly Tuesday morning prayer: Join us this morning upstairs in the Student Center, 8:15-8:45am, for our weekly time of prayer, seeking the wisdom and direction of the LORD for our church, our families and our community.
Daily Devotionals: Ascent’s Mission – Loving God, Loving People and Impacting Our World. Each day’s devotional will guide us through a scriptural thought based on the mission God has called us to follow.
We spent the last two weeks focusing on the first part of our mission, Loving God and Loving People. We turn this week to the final part of our mission: Impacting Our World.
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Engage the Word: Impacting Our World
Read Acts 1:8
Following His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Connect the Heart
The word for “power” here is the Greek word pronounced dú-na-mis. What English word does this remind you of? DYNAMITE! The power we receive by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of the gospel in Christ is like dynamite! Each of us has this kind of power because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.
The power and the purpose are being fueled by the Spirit.
What is interesting about the difference between the Gospels and the book of Acts is the transformation of the disciples into witnesses. From cowards who abandoned Jesus at the end of the Gospels, they became bold, powerful proclaimers in the streets of Jerusalem in the book of Acts. Early on, they were confused, weak, vacillating, frightened, scattered and unstable. By the time we see them again in Acts, they are a completely different group of men… Was it Christ’s resurrection? Yes. Was it the coming of the Holy Spirit? Yes. But, just as important, they finally understood God’s unfolding plan of redemption in the Old Testament, and that Jesus was the fulfillment of that plan.
From this one verse, we see the primary ingredients for the birth and sustenance of a worldwide movement, of which we are a part today… 1) A transcendent message… the Gospel message that never changes – this is our purpose! 2) A faithful perseverance in the face of tremendous opposition and hostility that fights against the message. 3) The power of the Holy Spirit.
Reflect on the Truth
1. In what ways are you a “witness” to the power of the Gospel in your own life? Your gospel story has power, fueled by the Holy Spirit. How have you seen this make an impact in the world?
2. Where might God be prompting you to be one of His Gospel witnesses? Is there a particular relationship where God might be providing an opportunity for you to have an impact?
3. How have you been called to faithful perseverance in the face of opposition? How can you see evidence of the Holy Spirit guiding you?
Depend on the Spirit
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the deeper longings, desires or motives in your heart that these thoughts are pointing to. (For example: you may write down, “Lord, I know there are opportunities you have for me to have an impact, but so often I struggle with fear. Will You help me?”) The Lord can help us discern the path forward – through His word, His Spirit, and His people.
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For Prayer
As you conclude your devotional time, pray for the schools in our community and for opportunities for Gospel impact with the students, parents, faculty and administration in each of these schools.
Fasting
Please read the first blog post entitled “Why Fast?” This explains what fasting is and why we follow Jesus in this spiritual discipline as, together, we seek the heart of God.
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Some parts of our 21 Days devotionals are adapted using various resources on scripture and prayer like The Bible Exposition Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, The New Bible Commentary, Logos Bible Software and other resources.
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